Page 110 of Crazy In Love
“Interesting. Did you know that Emilia met a man while she was there?” she asked.
“Really? She didn’t mention it.”
“She saw him several times. It was quite the Parisian fling.” She smirked. “How about you? Did you meet anyone while you were there?”
“Nope. I was focused on work.”
“Boring.” She shrugged as Henley walked over and handed me a fresh glass of whiskey. She and Easton had already agreed to drive me home, as I was several cocktails deep already.
“What are we talking about?” Henley asked.
“Emilia’s Paris fling.” Lulu waggled her brows, and they both chuckled. “It was life-changing.”
Life-changing. Couldn’t agree more.
“Impressive. We weren’t gone very long, so he must have been impressive.” I tipped my head back and downed the amber liquid.
“Right? It’s like something straight out of a romance book. She said Paris Guy was even hotter than Drake Dune.” Henley sipped her wine.
“Who the hell is Drake Dune?” I asked, hoping it sounded more like a question than the odd feeling of jealousy in my chest that needed to get out.
“We’re reading a new author, and we’re obsessed with her debut book,” Lulu said. “Her name is Hannah Chase, and thisbook has the best hero we’ve ever read. His name is Drake Dune. But he’s got nothing on Paris Guy.”
“Well, sounds like she’s hung up on Paris Guy.” I lifted up my glass when Rafe asked if I wanted another.
“No. She knows he’s notthat guy. He made it clear. And he lives in another country. But it was what she needed to get back out there. We just got her set up on a dating app a few days ago, and she’s getting lots of swipes.” Lulu high-fived Henley, and my free hand fisted at my side.
“She shouldn’t be going out with strange dudes. They could be seral killers,” I hissed.
“She’s a very capable woman. And we helped her screen the guy she went out with last night, and he was fine. She’s still alive and breathing today,” Henley said.
She went on a date last night?
I’m fucking my hand every day in the shower, and she’s out dating?
“Good to know,” I said as my mother called us to the table. Rafe handed me a whiskey, which I downed in one swig once again.
This was the one day a year that I allowed myself to get shitfaced.
The one day a year that I wanted to forget everything.
But now I wasn’t thinking about my fucked-up birthday. I was thinking about Emilia Taylor.
And she was clearly not thinking about me.
“Guess who I saw today?” Rafe said as he passed the spaghetti and meatballs to me.
“Who?” my father asked.
“Wren Waterstone.” He glanced around the table.
Wren was the sister of Collin Waterstone, the dude who had cheated on our sister Emerson with her maid of honor, and lifelong best friend. They’d called off their wedding afterinvitations had gone out, and she’d packed up and moved to Magnolia Falls. Everything had worked out. She met Nash and his son Cutler, and she’d never been happier. But that didn’t mean we all didn’t still despise that fucker Collin.
Which meant the Waterstones and the Chadwicks were no longer friends.
“I always liked Wren,” my mother said.
“She’s the sister of enemy number one, which means we don’t like her,” I grumped.
